Is there not a legal definition somewhere indicating how long medical
records should be held? From memory, it's something like 21 years. We should
have access at any time up to this legal limit. We should also have
permanent access to records of patients who have died.
This is why we have just spent our own practice money and bought a new
server (it had become very shaky, and was on the PCT list for a free
upgrade). We maintain ownership and rights of access to all our data for
some time to come with this new server.
Laurie Miles
(and I'm the IT lead GP for our PCT...)
-----Original Message-----
From: GP-UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Laurie Slater
Sent: 29 September 2004 08:36 pm
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [GP-UK] Access to records within CRS after patients have left the
practice
Question:
Assume that GP records are being held outside of your practice in a
cluster specific data warehouse. You have no practice based record and
everything is accessed online from this warehouse. In the ordinary run
of events as a patient's registered GP you would have a legitimate
relationship which would allow you to access their GP record. After they
have left the practice and registered elswhere that legitimate
relationship would stop. Over what period of time does the panel think
that it would be reasonable for the GP to continue to get unfettered
access to the record, on account of requirements for internal audit or
Q&O, or any other reason you can think of? In other words do we need a
'courtesy' period after the patient has left when the legitimate
relationship relationship still works - and how long should this last?
(Access for Medicolegal reasons does not count here. Assume too that a
frozen record of all events up to the date they leave the practice would
be available on request via CRS in this event).
Laurie
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